


Welcome To Silas

by CorvusCorvidae



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Private School, Professors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2015-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-03 17:07:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2858429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CorvusCorvidae/pseuds/CorvusCorvidae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura Hollis moves continents to accept a teaching position at an exceedingly remote private school. There, she meets the most intriguing staff members, and discovers the most unusual going ons. Surely all schools weren't as strange as this one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a drabble on tumblr, figured I'd expand on it. Might not read as a story, but each chapter is from the same universe.

*0*0*

Nerves were perfectly normal when about to embark on something new. Moving across the world for a job you were qualified for, although had barely any experience for, definitely counted as something new, so your nerves were perfectly justified.

And that’s what you needed to keep reminding yourself as the car drove closer and closer to what was going to be your new home.

Silas was a privately funded boarding school, based miles from anything of any actual importance, in the midst of Austria. It was not your first choice when applying for teaching positions, and actually, it hadn’t been a choice at all. After applying for job after job, and getting rejection letter and rejection letter, you were beginning to give up hope. But then a large brown manila envelope arrived in the mail, with a letter from the Dean at Silas who had heard from a friend you were available to teach and, as luck would have it, Silas had a position available.

It almost sounded too good to be true; this amazing school with endless resources, that was willing to pay for your moving fees, storage fees, flights, and then give you an above average salary to teach. You definitely felt as though there was a catch, somewhere, but everything seemed kosher. So how could you possibly pass up on this opportunity?

You couldn’t. Which was why you were exiting a private car, and standing before the steps leading up to the main building.

The building was grand, ostentatious, like the ones written about it storybooks and fairy tales, and you briefly wondered if you were in the correct place; especially since there wasn’t a student in sight.

This was a boarding school, and from what you read, there was a Summer Society, which ran events out of term-time. You expected to see someone. But other than the driver behind you, the place was empty.

Now it definitely felt like you’d been lured to some untimely and impending doom.

“Can I help you?” came a voice, pulling your attention to the figure standing in the archway, as if she had been there this whole time. You were certain she hadn’t. You would have noticed her. You could not have missed her.

Which was highly inappropriate as she looked like a student. She was young, stunning, but young, and dressed in leather pants and a band t-shirt. She looked every bit the impending doom you were speaking of, and you swallowed the lump in your throat as she advanced down the steps, coming to a halt in front of you.

 “I…I’m new-“you stammered, trying to hide your embarrassment at having been caught staring.

“I can tell,” she replied, one eyebrow raising.

If all students at Silas were like her, you were going to have your work cut out. She was intimidating, her mere presence was clouding your mind and causing you to lose all logic; and if there were a classroom full of students like her, you’d not last a week.

“I’m Laura Hollis, the new English teacher.” It seemed the best place to start, to move things on from stammering mess you were a moment before. “The Dean is-“

“Expecting you, I know.” There was a small smile playing on her lips, and you felt her eyes look you over, once, twice, before she cocked her head to the side. “The Dean’s office is at the top of the stairs. You can’t miss it. Head right on up.”

With that, she slipped past you, leaving you standing there. 

“Thanks,” you called, feeling as if you didn’t turn to see her walking away, then you’d think she wasn’t even real. “Eh, sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

You needed to know. You had to know who she was. You needed to know what name to avoid. You needed to know which student you didn’t want in your class. You needed to know.

“Professor Karnstein, I teach Philosophy.” Her parting smirk was one you were never going to forget. “Welcome to Silas.”

Welcome, indeed. What had you gotten yourself into?

*0*0*


	2. Chapter 2

*0*0*

Meeting the dean was interesting, to say the least. The woman was rather terrifying, and completely different from the image you had built up of her in your head. You actually hoped you’d never run into her on campus, because she made the hair on the back of your neck stand on end, and your eyes dart to the nearest exit to ensure it was clear.

But, that was over and done with. Thank god.

You had been shown around the main sections of the campus by Professor Lola Perry, who had also shown you to your living quarters, and then she made her leave, allowing you time to settle in. As Silas had paid your moving fees and arranged everything, all your belongings had arrived, and the room was crowded with boxes.

The living quarters consisted of a small kitchen/dining/living room area, which had one door off leading to the bedroom, and another leading to the bathroom. It was small, but you expected as much, and as you didn’t have an abundance of furniture, or a couch, you had plenty of space.

It seemed like the best plan of action was to unpack as much as you could, and try and form some semblance of normality now that this was where you were going to be living for the next year. Plus, there was only a few days until students started arriving back to campus, and you did not want to be preparing for your first classes as well as unpacking.

This turned out to be the best course of action, as the following morning, your aching muscles and tired eyes had a full day of nothing ahead. All the boxes were unpacked, and you could finally settle in and explore all Silas had to offer.

The most crucial place being the dining hall, of course, which you found yourself in early that morning. Food was being served, and there were an abundance of tables given all the students weren’t there yet, so you grabbed a tray and just hoped you weren’t going to have to sit by yourself.

As if answering your prayers, Perry appeared behind you in the non-existent queue, and smiled your way. Once you had collected food on your tray, you made it to the end of the service area, and glanced around the room. You weren’t entirely sure if you should go introduce yourself just yet, or leave everyone to themselves given that it was early.

“Laura, why don’t you come sit with us, and I’ll introduce you to everyone,” Perry said, coming to stand next to you, her tray in hand. She nodded towards a table that already had a bunch of people at it, and you shot her a thankful smile in return. “Given how remote Silas is,” she went on to say, “we all tend to hand out with one another, so the sooner you know who is who, the better.”

Taking that as your cue, you followed Perry to the table.

First to be introduced was Professor LaFontaine, the Biology teacher, who had papers across the table. They gave you a friendly smile and scooted the papers out the way so Perry and you could sit down. Then there was Professor Lawrence, or Danny, as she had said to call her.

“We’re going to be working pretty closely. I’m also an English teacher, and I’m here to help you with anything that you might need. I know how scary it can be walking into the classroom for the first time, so don’t hesitate to come find me if you want to go over lesson plans or ideas you might have. I’m really looking forward to having you,” Danny said, smiling, and wow, she was…what was in the water at the place? Was everyone stunning?

Glancing round the rest of the table, to those you had yet to be introduced to, that yes, yes everyone at Silas was rather stunning. Just what you needed.

First Professor Karnstein, and now Professor Lawrence. You really needed to get control over yourself if you were going to make it through the first semester.

“So what’s all this?” you asked LaFontaine, needing a distraction from the attractiveness surrounding you, so you nodded to the sheets of papers, detailing lists, along with photos and maps of what looked like the campus grounds.

“Oh, you don’t know yet!” they said excitedly, and you caught Perry rolling her eyes.

“Know what?” you wondered, feeling like you were missing out on something big.

“It’s a campus myth,” Danny explained, helping to burst LaFontaine’s bubble, which got her a dirty look.

“It’s not a myth, not at all. There is cold hard proof now.”

“That’s not true, what you have is just one big misunderstanding,” Perry added, looking at you like you’d started something you really shouldn’t have. Oh well.

“Alright, can someone explain?”

“There’s a panther loose on the grounds,” LaFontaine grinned, and you raised your eyebrows in disbelief, while also wondering if alcohol was also mixed into the water, because no.

“A panther?” you repeated.

“It’s not real,” Danny said again, shaking her head. “Last year, a student said they saw something big and black, like a cat, heading towards the library. It was most likely a wildcat or something similar. Definitely not a panther.”

“It was a panther,” LaFontaine whispered, nodding.

“You just want it to be a panther so you can have something exciting to focus on,” Perry said, shaking her head.

“There have been more sightings,” LaFontaine argued.

“From students at night. Never has a member of staff seen this mysterious panther. What does that tell you?”

“That the students are breaking the rules at night when we are all tucked up in our quarters,” LaFontaine explained, and Perry shot her a look of discontent.

“So panthers aren’t something I should worry about, then?” you wondered, just wanting to make sure.

“No,” Danny answered. “Every three months or so we get told of a bear sighting at the nearest village, if they think its heading our way. But, we’ve never had anything like that come onto the grounds.”

“Wolves,” LaFontaine added, pulling your attention. “We do get wolves on campus, but they’re mostly at the edge of the perimeter. Unless you have any reason to be out there-“

“Which you do not, LaFontaine,” Perry scolded, and you smiled because obviously that had been an issue in the past.

“-they won’t bother you,” they finished, ignoring Perry’s words, and you nodded in relief.

“Well, that’s good to know. My father did give me a case of bear spray, so I am set if they do come on the grounds, but it’s good to know wolves won’t also be an issue.”

“No, the only threat to you on this campus is Carmilla,” Danny muttered, making LaFontaine grin, and Perry tut Danny’s way. “What? It’s true,” she said, holding her hands up in surrender.

“Carmilla?” you asked, looking round, wondering who that was.

“Professor Karnstein, you met her yesterday?” Perry reminded you, and oh.

Carmilla. Carmilla Karnstein. Professor Karnstein. Huh.

“Oh, so you’ve met the resident demon?” Danny asked, a smile playing at her lips. “How did that go? I’m surprised you’re still in one piece.”

“Is she really that bad?” Carmilla hadn’t seemed that bad, a little intimidating, but that might have just been her overall presence, and that was not her fault at all. That was yours for thinking she was a student and therefore having inappropriate thoughts about her.

“She’s not bad. She’s just…misunderstood,” Perry provided, playing nice with her words, and you were beginning to see she was the mother hen of the group.

“She’s cruel. She gets enjoyment from torturing the students,” Danny explained, shaking her head Perry’s way.

“Yet her class is the most popular amongst the students,” LaFontaine threw in, making Danny scowl her way, too.

“That’s just because she doesn’t give homework.” Apparently LaFontaine and Perry knew it best not to continue, as they both rolled their eyes.

“I’m sure Carmilla will be nothing but professional around you. It’s really only Danny she has an issue with.”

“Oh?” you asked, now very curious.

“She just doesn’t like other alphas. She’s used to being the only big fish in a small pond. Silas isn’t a small pond, so she needs to learn to share.” You weren’t quite sure that metaphor worked, but nodding, you went back to eating your breakfast, and trying to piece in this new bit of info to the image you had of Professor Karnstein.

Maybe you needed to meet with her again, talk to her properly, before you could formulate a proper opinion. After all, it was no good going on biased second handed accounts. Not when you were perfectly capable of finding out yourself.

*0*0*


	3. Chapter 3

*0*0*

Your opportunity to meet Carmilla again came sooner than you thought.

You were still taking time to settle in at Silas, and were using your time before all the students returned to plan effective lessons for the coming year. In your typical fashion, however, you knocked over your mug and spilt cocoa all over the floor, which was exceedingly disappointing because _your cocoa_. Leaving your work with a sigh, you looked around and realised you didn’t have anything to wipe the mess up. Your cloth was bleaching in the sink, you didn’t want to use your new towels, and you didn’t have any paper towels to hand.

That’s when you remembered Perry mentioning there being a storage cupboard on the floor which held the essentials the school provided, like paper towels, toilet paper, and other cleaning supplies. Leaving the mess, because it wasn’t exactly going anywhere, you left your room, closing the door behind you, and nipped off to find this storage cupboard.

It actually wasn’t that hard to find, the door did say ‘storage’ on it after all, and inside, you found exactly what you needed – an abundance of paper towels that would help you clean up the cocoa coating your floor. Grabbing a roll, you left the storage cupboard and turned to go back to your room.

Opening the door, you wandered in, eyes on the wad of paper towels that you were separating so you could successfully clean up the mess. 

“Can I help you, sweetheart?” You jumped, you couldn’t help but jump at the new voice in the room, and okay, what was happening?

“Holy crap, oh…eh…no, but can I help you…Professor Karnstein?” Why was she there? What was going on? And please, you needed to start using her first name.

“This is my room, but I’m sure I can still help you, Professor Hollis,” she replied, that annoying smirk easing up on her lips. And that’s when you realised, this was not your room. Not at all.

There were candles, there were leopard print sheets, there was an abundance of leather that you had never seen before, and oh. This was mortifying.

“Oh…Oh no, I’m so sorry! I can’t believe, I thought…I’m lost,” you admitted, and Carmilla rolled her eyes, smiling, as she stood up, pointing to the wall.

“You’re next door, but feel free to stop by any time.” Rather than reply, you just nodded, still embarrassed, backed up, hitting the doorframe, before stumbling out into the hall and giving her an awkward wave. You were quick to shut the door after that, and wanted the world to swallow you up when you heard her laughing on the other side.

So that was awful.

And all that awaited you when you returned to your room was drying cocoa on the floor and a chipped mug.

*0*0*

It was surprisingly easy to almost walk into Carmilla’s room day in day out. You kept doing it, approaching her door, before realising it wasn’t yours. Thankfully, Carmilla had only caught you standing awkwardly outside her room twice, when she had been on her way out, and you somehow managed a stuttered reply of apologies and excuses.

You’d think they would have clearer numbers on the doors, but for whatever reason, Carmilla was 307b and you were 307a and that tiny letter was enough to have you forgetting. Plus, you kept telling yourself not to go to 307b that 307b was the room you automatically ended up at. You really needed to get your act together, and fast.

Thankfully, there were many distractions to keep your focused, and take your mind off your constant need to embarrass yourself in front of Carmilla. Students were slowly trickling back onto campus before the official start of the term, and you were in meetings with other faculty members, getting the lay of the land. Danny was helping you immensely, and her guidance was easing the worries that were building up about your first day as Professor Hollis.

You had just come from a meeting with Danny, where her help was invaluable, and were going to get a proper tour of where everything in the English department was later on. First, you wanted to freshen up, take a shower, maybe have a nap, and just take it easy before the evening.

After unlocking your door and dumping your bags down, you knew that before you did anything, you needed to empty the trash out, because later you’d forget, and the trash chute at the back of the building made a hell of a racket, which you didn’t want to do at ten o’clock at night. You weren’t going to be one of those inconsiderate types.

Leaving your door ajar, you disposed of the trash, and headed back inside your room, closing the door behind you. Only, looking up, this time you weren’t alone, and you were one hundred percent certain you hadn’t made the mistake.

“Can I help you, Professor Karnstein? I’m almost certain that this is my room this time,” you said, catching her attention. She was standing by your desk, and had turned to look your way. Carmilla smirked, quirking an eyebrow at your words, before shaking her head a little, fixing you with a gaze.

“Actually, yeah, you can help me.” Those words should not have made your throat dry and knees a little weak. “We do regular blood donations, for the local hospital. Staff and students of age who are able to are encouraged to donate. We wouldn’t want anyone dying from lack of blood, after all. So I thought I’d leave you this.” Professor Karnstein dropped an envelope the very desk she had been looking at, before turning back to you.

You weren’t actually sure what to say. That wasn’t what you thought she’d say. You hadn’t really taken her for the charitable and considerate type, which sounded mean when you said it like that, but being an active supporter of blood donations, that was something else. She must really care about people.

“Thanks, that’s considerate of you.”

“Considerate…” Professor Karnstein hummed, “that’s me alright.” You wondered if her flippancy had anything to do with the impression the other staff members had of her, and if she thought you believed their words.

“I will fill the form out and give it back to you?” It wasn’t meant to be a question, but you couldn’t quite control your voice or words around her.

“We have a blood drive next week, when the students are back. You can either bring it on the day, or you can take it to the office if you’d prefer not to donate.”

“Oh, I’ll happily donate my blood. Like you said, we wouldn’t want anyone dying from lack of blood, not when it’s something everyone has. And I imagine out here, the hospitals and clinics must have a lack of frequent donations, so this must be a great help to them.”

“Yes, the blood is always greatly appreciated,” Carmilla replied, nodding, with her head cocked to the side a little. “Anyway, I’ll let you get back.”

She moved almost silently towards you, and you sidestepped, allowing her access to the door. With her hand on the handle, for whatever reason, you wanted to prolong her presence, and opened your mouth. You didn’t even know what you were going to be saying, you just had to say something.

“Professor Karnstein?” you asked, and that was an easy opening, you still had many possibilities, now all you needed to do was think of what to say.

“Professor Hollis?” Carmilla replied, turning to look at you, and any chance you had of thinking of a topic was destroyed. She really was stunning, and her presence, well, you could feel the gooseflesh on your arms.

“D-d-do you have any tips for my first day of classes? I know its next week, but I’m new and-“ you rambled, finally getting past the stutter. She gave you a small smile, and allowed your rambling to finish before speaking.

“Surprise them.”

“Surprise them?” you repeated, because that really wasn’t what you were expecting her to say.

“Surprise them. It worked for me.” She shrugged like that was nothing, but it really didn’t sound like nothing. How did she surprise them?

Though, having thought that, Carmilla had surprised you the very first time you met her. You thought she was a stupid. You were having a crisis because you thought you were attracted to a student. She was full of surprises!

“What did you do?” you asked quickly, seeing that she was turning the handle and still making her leave. That did cause her to pause, however.

“Stick around long enough, Professor Hollis, and I might just tell you,” she gave a grin, and then opened the door, shutting it gently behind her.

You weren’t quite sure what that meant, but you wanted to find out. You wanted to know what she had done on her first day of classes. Maybe the other members of staff knew. Though, who were you kidding, they didn’t seem to like Carmilla very much, so there is no way they’d know. Not unless it was scandalous, and if it had been, you would have heard about it already.

Whatever, now you needed to think of a way to surprise your students next week. While Carmilla’s advice might not have been the typical advice, it still sounded good. Though, recalling your conversation with Danny about nerves and what to do, she had said something very different.

“Go in with confidence. Act like you know exactly what you’re doing, and be firm. Don’t let them away with little things, stop them from the get-go so they know they can’t walk all over you. You need to be consistent, but also enthusiastic. Although not overly so, because you need to keep that up for the year. You’ll be setting expectations, so they know exactly what they’re going to get from you, how far to push, and when to behave. It should set the right tone for things to follow, and you’ll have a good class.”

“Right,” you had nodded, mentally making notes of everything Danny was saying.

Now, though, now you were thinking very differently.

Danny had been mentoring you, keeping you right, but two words from Carmilla and you were throwing all those plans out the window. For whatever reason, Carmilla’s words inspired you. Danny’s had been practical, and they had addressed the issues you were going to have, but Carmilla’s…you wanted to constantly keep your students on their toes, so they didn’t know what to expect, but in the fun way. You wanted them to enjoy your class.

And from what you’d heard around the halls, all the students adored Carmilla’s class. So maybe you really did need to take stock in what she’d said.

After all, her method had worked brilliantly on you, so maybe there was something to it.

*0*0*


End file.
